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THE CASE OF KATHPUTLI COLONY:

Mapping Delhis First In-situ Slum Rehabilitation


Project







Subhadra Banda, Yashas Vaidya and David Adler








Centre for Policy Research
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapri, New Delhi-110021
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ABSTRACT
The Delhi Master Plan 2021 introduced the In-situ rehabilitation approach to slum
redevelopment, in which residents of JhuggiJhopdi Clusters transition to temporary housing while the
Delhi Development Authority (DDA) reconstructs the settlement, and then shifts the slum-dwellers
back onto the original plot and into improved housing. Kathputli Colony, located in West Delhis
Shadipur region, has been selected by the DDA as the site of Delhis first in-situ slum rehabilitation.
This paper lays out the trajectory of the Kathputli project thus far, examining the formal, legalistic
framework and its relationship to the actual events documented in our research in the colony. We
find that, four years after its commencement, there are many aspects of the project which remain
unclear, both for researchers and for the residents of Kathputli even moreso. Despite the Master
Plans attempt to move toward a more inclusive approach to slum redevelopment, the DDA is
struggling in its effortsto develop an infrastructure capable of facilitating an informed involvement
by the community or civil society organizations in the region.




























Contents
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... 1
I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1
II. A BRIEF HISTORY OF KATHPUTLI ........................................................................................... 3
III. THE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT ......................................................................................... 4
IV. THE COMMUNITY & CONSENT .............................................................................................. 6
V. SURVEYING & ELIGIBILITY ....................................................................................................... 9
VI. TRANSIT CAMPS: ......................................................................................................................... 12
VII. ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE .......................................................................................... 15
VIII. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................. 16
THE DDA AND THE SURVEY: ............................................................................................................... 17
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND CONSENT: ..................................................................................... 19
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 21


1 | 23
Agencies involved in the administration of
JJ Clusters:
The Delhi Development Authority was created in
1957 under the provisions of the Delhi Development
Act "to promote and secure the development of Delhi.
It is responsible to the central governments Ministry of
Urban Development. The DDA is the largest land
owning agency in Delhi, currently owning more than
50% of the land that the 685 JJ clusters are on.
Until very recently, the responsibility of providing basic
civic amenities and resettlement of squatter settlements
used to vest with the Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri (JJ)
Department under the Municipal Corporation of
Delhi, the urban local body.
The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board
(DUSIB) was established in 2010 in place of the
Slum and JJ Department at the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by way of the DUSIB
Act. This body is responsible to the Government of the
National Capital Territory of Delhis Ministry of
Urban Development. The DUSIB cannot undertake
rehabilitation or relocation on land vested in the
Central Government or its agencies, without receiving
consent.

I. Introduction

In 2007, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) began planning for Delhis first in-situ slum
rehabilitation project. It chose the Kathputli Colony (Kathputli), a jhuggi jhopri (JJ) cluster tucked into
West Delhis Shadipur region, as the site for this project.
In 2009, Rahejathe private developers chosen to undertake the projectannounced the
construction of Raheja Phoenix, Delhis first true skyscraper, on the current Kathputli Colony
plot. With a planned height of 190 metres, Raheja Phoenix is 54 floors of luxury flats, equipped
with skysclub and helipad, according to the developers.
The Kathputli in-situ slum rehabilitation is a three-step process. First, the residents of Kathputli
who qualify for the project will move from their current settlement in Shadipur to a transit camp.
Second, Raheja will raze the JJ cluster and begin the construction of high-rise apartmentsand a
luxury skyscraperon site. Finally, within the next three to five years, the transit camp residents will
move back into the settlement, next door to Raheja Phoenix
One of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement
Boards (DUSIB) 685 recognized JJs, Kathputli Colony
has caught the attention of many in the public
representation of Delhis slums.
1
Home to a vibrant
community of puppeteers and performers
immortalised in fiction by Salman Rushdies portrait in
Midnights ChildrenKathputli has long been the object
of fascination for tourists and Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) alike. Youll find magic in the
Kathputli slum, TIME magazine reported in 2008, if
you know where to look.
2
According to the Delhi
Master Plan 2021, in-situ rehabilitation projects will be
intended for sites to be selected on the basis of
specific parameters not specified in the plan itself.
Nonetheless, the current project represents the
culmination of a number of attempts by the DDA and
other organizations to rehabilitate/relocate the
Kathputli settlement. Adjacent to the Shadipur station
of the Delhi Metros Blue Line, Kathputli Colonys
vast sprawl currently occupies valuable real estate in
Central Delhi. The rehabilitation project offers

1
List of JJ Clusters, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, last accessed October 2012. available at
http://delhishelterboard.in/main/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/list-of-685-JJ-clusters-list-sorted-as-per-land-owning-
agencies.xls (last visited October 2012)
2
Heidi J. Shrager, Magic Abounds in a Delhi Slum, TIME June 20, 2008.
2 | 23
developers the opportunity to consolidate Kathputlis residents into 15-storey high-rise apartments,
allowing the developer to use a section of the site for commercial gain.
3
The Raheja website states
that The project is located in the heart of the city surrounded by posh commercial and residential
localities of Central Delhi, and distance from Connaught Place is just 5 min. Union Housing and
Poverty Alleviation Minister Ajay Maken announced in October 2012 that the Kathputli project is
close to his heart.
4

DDAs Approach
As such, the case study of Kathputlis rehabilitation
makes fertile ground for an analysis of the DDAs
contemporary approach to slum redevelopment. Many
politicians and civil society actors have recently turned their
attention to Delhis urban poor and debated the trajectory of
redevelopment. Some, like Delhi Lieutenant-Governor
Tejendra Khannawho serves as the Chairman of the
Committee for Periodic Review and Monitoring of the
Master Plan for Delhi 2021argue for partnerships with the
private sector. Big builders like Tata and HUDCO should
come forward to take up development of not only
unauthorised colonies, but also of areas where buildings are
structurally unsafe. They can take up a certain area and can
be provided with an alternative piece of land by the
government to provide temporary accommodation to
people living in these areas while construction is on, the Lieutenant-Governors office told The
Hindu in October 2012. On the other hand, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and many others
claim that such projects are the responsibility of the state, and should not be used for profit. This is
a human problem, and should be dealt with in a similar approach, Dikshit announced. Citing
Kathputli Colony as an example of how such efforts could hit roadbumps, Dikshit said, The Delhi
Development Authority had in 2009 announced the in-situ development for the artists living in
Kathputli Colony, but nothing has happened since,
5
indicating a clear division of opinion about
slum policy between the State government in Delhi and the central agency, the DDA. As Delhis
first substantive experiment in privately developed in-situ slum rehabilitationand also its first
experiment in skyscraper constructionthe Kathputli Project is not just an interesting case study for
researchers but one that will have significant consequences for the future of Delhis urban
development.
6


3
As stated by Raheja and recorded by the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) in its 33
rd
meeting in
October 2011.
4
Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar, Redevelopment of slums critical for planned development of Delhi, The Hindu October 31,
2012.
5
L-G says bring in private builders to develop colonies, Sheila disagrees, The Indian Express October 22, 2012.
6
While the Kathputli project is Delhis first successfully initiated in-situ slum rehabilitation, the DDA has previously
attempted this style ofrehabilitation in 1989-1991 at the V.P. Singh Camp in southern Delhi. There, intervention by
Delhis strategies for slum
rehabilitation
In 1990-91, the GNCTD and DDA
adopted a three-pronged strategy for dealing
with squatter settlements (a) in situ up-
gradation (b) relocation of jhuggi-jhompri
clusters (c) environmental improvement of
urban slums.
Up-gradation was taken up in very few cases
and relocation became the predominant
method for rehabilitation. The Master Plan
2021, reiterates this three pronged strategy
stating that in-situ rehabilitation projects will
be intended for sites to be selected on the
basis of specific parameters.
3 | 23
The Master Plan 2021, adopted in 2007, states that around 40% of Delhis housing could be
satisfied through redevelopment/up-gradation of existing areas of Delhi.
7
The Plan also states that
the overall responsibility for provision of land and facilitation of adequate housing to meet the
projected demand lies with the DDA.
8
With such a great emphasis on the role of the DDA in
solving the problems of Delhi slums in the next decade, our understanding of the case of Kathputli
at this juncture becomes all the more crucial.
DUSIB framework:
There is, however, recently enacted legislation that deals with slum rehabilitation in Delhi. The
Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) was established in 2010 in place of the Slum and
JJ Department at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which was previously in charge of
providing services and governing in these areas, by way of this legislation. Nonetheless, while the
DUSIB Act of 2010 clearly lays out a formal framework for rehabilitation projects, Kathputlis re-
development remains outside the purview of this legislation on two grounds: first, that the Act was
promulgated much after the project started, and second, that the DUSIB Act requires the consent of
the landowning agency in order to undertake the project. As the Kathputli Colony property belongs
to the DDAwhich has initiated and continues to maintain control over the projectthe
rehabilitation project does not fall under DUSIB jurisdiction. Thus, given the extensive autonomy of
the DDA in the project, this case study serves to compare the ground realities of slum rehabilitation
and the regulatory aspirations of DUSIB, and as such, to better understand their feasibility.
The first section will provide a brief history of the colony and its relationships to state and civil
society actors. We will then provide an outline of the various aspects of the project as they have
unfolded so far, paying particular attention to the discrepancies between the formal, legal framework
of the DDA and the ground reality in the settlement. Each section in our case study of Kathputli
Colony points to several possible areas of further research; our aim is to delineate the rehabilitation
process to lay these out clearly. Many other researchers including, especially, Veronique Dupont are
engaged in efforts to document the trajectory of Kathputlis rehabilitation, a nascent version of
Delhis Dharavi.
9

II. A Brief History of Kathputli

In the early 1970s, a handful of itinerant performers from Rajasthan settled in West Delhis
Shadipur region. Such artistsprimarily puppeteers and musiciansoften migrated through the
capital, and Shadipur made a convenient location for commuting to performances across the city.
Over time, they were joined by a variety of artists from states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra,

then-Prime Minister V.P. Singh stalled the project. For a detailed description:, Vronique Dupont and Tara Saharan,
Chance2Sustain: Addressing sub-standard settlements.
7
Master Plan of Delhi, 2021, Section 4.1.
8
Master Plan of Delhi 2021, Section 4.2.
9
Some other writings on Kathputli: Rohan Kalyan, The Magicians' Ghetto,
http://academia.edu/1605162/The_Magicians_Ghetto
4 | 23
and together, they began to cohere into a single settlement known as Kathputli after the type of string
puppet theatre performed by its residents.
10

Over the next two decades, during which many surrounding slums were demolished during the
1975-1977 Emergency, the settlement organized around its artistry, forming the Bhule Bhisre
Kalakar Cooperative. With the help of the Asian Heritage Foundation, Kathputli artists found work
through the Sangeet Natak Academy, a performing arts council established by the Indian
government in Delhi. In the 1980s, the artists in Kathputli gained international recognition through
performances at the Festival of India in the U.K. in 1982 and in the United States in 1985.
It was around this time that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) began to push for slum
resettlement. In 1986, they proposed the resettlement of Kathputli residents in the South Delhi
region of Vasant Kunj. Around 1990, DDA Slum Wing architect Anil Lall drafted more detailed
plans for upgradation, according to a duplex-style housing model. And in 1996, they drafted another
proposal for resettlement in Mehrauli, also located in South Delhi.All of these proposals were
rejected on the grounds that neither location was as centrally located as their current Shadipur
settlement.
11

In May 2002, a Member of Parliament, Raghunath Jha, during question hour at theLok
Sabha, sought a clarification on the allotment of Janata flats (EWS housing) in Dwarka. In response
to the question, then-Minister of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Bandaru Dattatreya
stated in Parliament that 1478 Janta flats in Sector 16, Pocket B, Dwarka were reserved for the
rehabilitation of residents of Kathputli Colony.
12
This plan, however, failed to materialize.
Finally, following an express inclination toward in-situ rehabilitation of JJ clusters in the Master
Plan 2021, the DDA chose Kathputli as the site of its first such project.

III. The Redevelopment Project
The following section details the various processes involved in Kathputlis rehabilitation project,
starting from the selection of developer
In May 2007, the DDA issued a tender calling for professionally sound individuals to
explore and adopt innovative, futuristic ideas and cost effective technologies for slum
redevelopment projects.
13
These individuals would come to form a Panel of Consultants, helping
the DDA to plan its slum rehabilitation projects. Each project was to be assigned through a process
of limited competition amongst a group of 5 to 7 consultants from the List of Empanelled
Consultants found suitable for the particular project. The short-listed group for a particular project
would be given a brief on the basis of which each consultant is required to develop a conceptual
scheme and submit the same to DDA along with a financial quotation for taking up the project.
14


10
Based on interview with Mr. Bhagwati of the Asian Heritage Foundation, February 2012.
11
Ibid.
12
Vacant DDA flats in Dwarka, Lok Sabha Un-starred Question No 7160, answered on May 14 2002.
13
Delhi Development Authority, Empanelment of Architects for Slum Upgradation/Redevelopment Projects, May
2007.
14
Ibid.
5 | 23
Later that year, the DDA selected Gian P. Mathur & Associates (GPMA), a architecture and
planning firm based in Delhi, to consult for the Kathputli project.
15
Together, GPMA and the DDA
formulated the details and design of the project that formed an essential part of the developers
contract. One year later, in September 2008, in a two-stage selection process, the DDA invited
applications pertaining to the empanelment of Developers for the development of 21 sites identified
for In-situ rehabilitation of JJ clusters at different locations in Delhi.
16

Eight developers technically qualified for the financial bid: RA Infra Engineer, M/s Housing
Development, M/s Unitech Ltd. B.L. Kashyap and Sons, B. G. Shirke, Raheja Developers (Raheja),
JMC, and Akruti City.
17
From these eight, however, only Raheja entered the financial bid.
On 6 October 2009, DDA awarded its first slum redevelopment project 5.22 hectares of land
allocated for Rs. 6.11 crores and the obligation to rehabilitate the Kathputli Colonyto Raheja
Developers, with an expected total cost of Rs. 254.27 crores.
18
Newspapers reported that the move
may see more such projects in the national capital resulting in better living conditions for urban
poor and thousands of crores of businesses for builders.
19
Raheja ironically announced that strings
and puppets are making way for the capital tallest building, with a planned height of 190 metres, and
54 floors.
20

Little, however, beyond the above narrative has been released by the DDA. A full picture of the
Kathputli projectone capable of providing insight into how and why the specific dimensions of
the redevelopment contract were decidedwill require a more detailed understanding of the
relationship between the developer, architectural consultant and the DDA.
Contract
This contract laid out a number of specific guidelines for the settlement. According to the
consultants report prepared by GPMAa project scheme later adopted by the DDA in its
agreement with the developersthe number of EWS houses required to be constructed is 2800,
each with a composition as follows: the dwelling unit is a minimum of 30.5 sq metres, including one
room of 9 sq. m, one multipurpose room of 6.5 sq. m, one bath of minimum area of 1.2 sq m, and
one kitchen of 3.3 sq m.
21
The other amenities that would be constructed at this site is a primary
school, senior secondary school, multipurpose community Hall, Basti Vikas Kendra, religious
site,police station, Shishu Vatika, dairy and fair price shop and akerosene store. In addition to these
amenities, the developer is expected to lay all internal roads and operate them until local authorities
can assume control. An electric substation will be provided by concerned authorities, payment for
which will remain the responsibility of the developer. Further, the contract demands that the

15
Correspondence between Engineer Member and LM (WZ), No. EM3 (44)2007/Vol5/1425.
16
Technical Bid, Empanelment of Developers for Development of 21 sites identified for In-situ rehabilitation of JJ
Clusters at different location of Delhi.
17
Invitation for financial bid from the qualified developers for in-situ development at Kathputli Colony near Shadipur,
New DelhiNo.F5(21O)W D-51DDA/2008-09/2466, dated January 29, 2009.
18
Minutes of the 33
rd
meeting of State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) held on 31.10.2011.
19
Raheja bags 500 cr Delhi Slum Project, Economic Times, June 10, 2009.
20
A visual representation of the construction is available at http://www.rahejaphoenixdelhi.com
21
Selection of Project Developers for In-situ Development of Kathputli Colony near Shadipur Depot, Agreement No:
40/EE/WD5/DDA/2009-2010 dated 4.9.2009. The contract also mandates 10% Floor Area Ratio (what is this?) (FAR)
as per Delhi Master Plan 2021.
6 | 23
developer provide underground water tanks for domestic water supply, horticultural works, and fire
fighting, while also obtaining all clearances from the building section, Delhi Jal Board (DJB),
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), concerned electric supply, Delhi Fire Services, and Delhi
Urban Arts Commission (DUAC). Possession of the site would not be granted till a provisional
transit camp is built by the developer. Meanwhile, the agreement guarantees that the DDA will
provide a project site for construction free from all encroachment and litigation.
Apart from the responsibilities relating to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) housing,
developers will have the right to construct and sell up to 170 houses at commercial rates with free-
hold tenure, a the maximum built up area of 19471 sq. metre,. This added bonus lies at the centre of
the DDAs incentive scheme for attracting developers and, as such, the anxieties that surround the
redevelopment project.
Model images of Raheja Phoenix are tellinglit up from the ground, a soaring glass skyscraper
with a pool and a plaza, beside which the hazy outlines of the EWS high-rises are not clearly visible..
As the project progresses, so this relationship between Kathputli Colony and the occupants of
Raheja Phoenix becomes an area for further research. As Mr. Navin Raheja, Chairman and MD of
Raheja Developers Ltd., himself once said: Nobody wants poor people to be their neighbour.
22

According to the contract, time for completion is defined as two years from the date of
commencement of project. If the developer exceeds this time limit, the contract states that he shall
be liable to pay a sum equivalent to 0.5% of the total project money for a period of five years. This
two year limit
23
has been exceeded due to many reasons. In October 2011, the State Level Expert
Appraisal Committee (SEAC) ruled that the information submitted by Raheja failed to meet the
Environmental Clearance guidelines and hence did not recommend the grant of an environmental
clearance.
24
In addition, the project faced setbacks initially due to a lack of location for the transit
camp; later, due to a paucity of land at the transit camp they began to construct at Anand
Parbhat.
25

IV. The Community & Consent

Although originally a colony of Rajasthani migrants, Kathputli today is comprised of a
number of different communitiesincluding Gujaratis, Bihari Muslims, Adivasis from Warangal
District in Andhra Pradesh, and Maharastrianslargely stratified along lines of geographical origin
of its residents.
26
These lines are also economic: some residents of Kathputli live in more developed

22
From Slum to Skyscraper, The Wall Street Journal, February 17, 2012.
23
As per Agreement No: 40/EE/WD5/DDA/2009-2010 dated 4.9.2009 the end date was to be 3.9.2011.
24
Minutes of the 33rd meeting of State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) held on 31.10.2011 from 10:00 am to
6:00 pm Based on the information furnished, presentation made and further discussions held, the Committee suggested
to the project proponent that the information submitted does not meet the requirement for Environmental Clearance
25
In September 2012, a DDA official said that after constructing 1,600 dwelling units the agencys plans to construct
the remaining 1,200 units on an adjacent hillock were frustrated as the area was already encroached upon. Demolishing
the encroachments was fraught with political complications. The Hindu, September 8, 2012.
26
A more complete list of communities in the colony include: the Kathputli Community, largely from Churu, Jhunjhun;
Gujaratis; Adivasis from Warangal; Maharashtrians; those from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh; fire-eaters and acrobats
from Natt in Rajasthan; those from Qalandar; Kalandars and Magicians from Mewat, Haryana; Bihari Muslims; Gijara
7 | 23
jhuggiesmade of brick, with electrical outlets connected to televisions and overhead fansothers
reside in more tenuous structures. These economic disparities, we have found, play a role in the
determination of community sentiment regarding the project, as relocation represents an
improvement of living conditions for some, and a loss for others.
Negotiations with the government have, as per interviews, taken place through 12Pradhans
(heads) from different communities, who have served as intermediaries between the DDA and
Kathputli residents. Interviews reveal that, while there is ambiguity as to whom the community
accepts as a pradhan in day-to-day activity, most communities have accepted representation by a
single Pradhan with respect to the redevelopment project.
27
In the course of our fieldwork,
Kathputli residents have indicated that the DDA has made little effort to speak with the community,
but have instead met with Pradhans, most often on the latters petitioning, to discuss the project.
The Pradhans also interact with the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit and Union Ministers like Ajay
Maken and Kamal Nath.Nonetheless, despite these points of access, our fieldwork indicates that
most community members remain largely ignorant about the proceedings of these meetings and
their results.
28

There are multiple Non-Governmental Organizations that are present in the community, most
notably the Bhule Bisre Kalakar (closely associated with the Asian Heritage Foundation) and the
Kalakar Trust, which works closely with its residents to promote their artistry. These organisations
are built into the geography of the colony: Kalakar Trust has a school built at one end of the colony;
next door, the Bhule Bisre Kalakar provides space to artisans to pursue their activities.
However, while civil society actors are mentioned in both the Master Plan 2021 and the RAY
scheme, our research has found little initiative on the part of the DDA to include these NGOs in
the planning process. As late as May 2010, several community based organisations including the
Mohalla Sudhaar Samiti, Lok Matha Kusht Ashram, Shadipur Bus Depot Colony Jaati Samaj, Akhil Bharti
Gyaara Samaj Samiti , Jatav Samaj Samiti, Adivasi Samaj, Siddharth Vihar, Jan Pukar Sangh and Bhule Bisre
Kalakar Trust all sent written representations to the DDA seeking information regarding various
aspects of the rehabilitation project. While the DDA attempted to answer queries, they directed
petitioners to other Departments for information, indicating a limited capacity for communication
with these actors.
29

In our own research, we tried to find documentary evidence of involvement between
organizations and the DDA within Kathputli. Until now, the files accessed (by way of an RTI filed
by the authors) did not record minutes of meetings with the community or any other organizations
or their proceedings. The only record found was the mention of the developers meeting with the

Samaj from Uttar Pradesh, who traditionally make furniture and utensils from rope; leprosy-cured persons from
Nizamabad Andhra Pradesh; and those belonging to the Valmiki caste from Delhi, a nomadic tribe that is involved in
ear cleaning from Uttar Pradesh. Though each subgroup represents an individual community within the colony,
residents from Masaid and Kalandar Community from Haryana are represented usually by a single pradhan. Based on
interview with Mr. Zargham, September 24, 2012.
27
The relationship between the DDA, the Pradhans, and the Kathputli community at large is highly complex and will
require more thorough research in order to examine its dynamics.
28
Veronique Dupont (2012) offers a full account of the pradhan-state interactions in Chance2SustainAddressing sub-
standards settlements.
29
F 5(210) WD5/DDA/2010/2642 dated. 11/2/2010
8 | 23
community, by virtue of correspondence between M/s Raheja and the DDA,
30
confirmed by our
interviews. Meanwhile, our research has shown that communication with the community at large has
been limited. In an interview, one member of a Kathputli artisan cooperative revealed that
community participation was defined by receipt of information; residents were informed about how
the project was envisioned. Other Kathputli residents, when asked how they found out about the
DDA rehabilitation project, referred to the event where dignitaries like the Chief Minister gathered
to lay a foundation stone was laid at the edge of the colony, thus signifying the commencement of
the project.
31
The failure to involve the community was further established by Delhis Labour
Minister and Member of Legislative Assembly of the area, Ramakant Goswami who stated that it
was a mistake not to take the artisans on board during the planning stage of the project.
32

Meanwhile, the developers suggested to the DDA in June of 2011 that agreements be entered
into with each of the beneficiaries.
33
The developers settled on a draft agreement and sent it to the
DDA, which then asked its legal department to check the agreement.
34
The agreement, currently in
the process of being finalised, currently requires that a period of 7 days be given as notice before
shifting to a transit camp and a period of 7 days to be given as notice for the purposes of shifting
outside of the transit camp.
35
The agreement also requires that the transit accommodation be
returned intact and prescribes the payment of charges if the damage exceeds normal wear and
tear.
Notably, the first clause specifies that a EWS dwelling unit will be transferred to the slum
dweller for a yearly rent unspecified in the agreement. It states further that the unit cannot be
transferred or leased out for a period of 10 years, after which such transfer can take place only with
the consent of the DDA. It requires that the slum dweller, on the terminationof lease, peaceably
yield up the tenement to the authority, thus leaving the prospect of tenure doubtful. The agreement
states that the maintenance of the final EWS accommodation built by Raheja Developers shall be
carried out by the DDA until an association of slum dwellers is formed. Most important, it also
states that any dispute arising out of the contract would be referred to the sole arbitration of the
Vice Chairman of the DDA and that this decision would be final.

30
Representation of M/s Raheja Developers dated17.6.2011 addressed to Vice-Chairman, DDA (copy enclosed) vide
which Draft Agreement for Resettlement of Slum Dwellers has been submitted for vetting by the Legal Department
31
The foundation stone was laid in February, 2009. See Dipak Kumar Dash,Flat sop for slumdwellers, The Hindu
February16, 2009. (See Figures 4, 5)
32
Pritha Chatterjee Can 40 years of heritage fit into single-room flats?, The Indian Express, August 2, 2012.
33
Representation of M/s Raheja Developers dated17.6.2011 addressed to Vice-Chairman, DDA (copy enclosed) vide
which Draft Agreement for Resettlement of Slum Dwellers has been submitted for vetting by the Legal Department
34
Currently, there is much confusion in the DDA as to which department is equipped or has the jurisdiction to vet this
draft agreement. While Executive Engineer WD 5s department has been involved in the preliminary stages of tendering
and currently in the transit camp, the Land Management (West Zone) office has been involved in the surveying. In
August 2011, the AD LM (WZ) wrote to the SLO LM forwarding to whet Rahejas draft slum dwellers agreement. On
18
th
August 2011, wrote to the AD LM (WZ) to CE (NZ) stating that EE WD 5 is the appropriate agency to whet the
agreement .forwarding the agreement for slum dwellers drafted by Raheja for whetting. In late September 2011, the EE
WD 5 wrote to the Chief Legal Officer of the DDA stating that since the LM WZ had been involved with the Kathputli
project from the start, it would in a better position to vet the agreement.
35
Correspondence between Raheja and DDA Chairman, dated June 27, 2011.
9 | 23

Figure1: Model of EWS High-rise apartment unit, built in Kathputli Colony. Photograph by authors.


For now, howeveras the date of the shift to the transit camp is imminentthe agreement
remains in draft stage, uncirculated and unsigned, and community members remain unaware of
many of the details of their entitlements and liabilities under this project. Knowledge of the project
is widespread; with most jhuggies having a DDA number painted on the front door after a survey was
conducted. The developers have built a small, single-room model to demonstrate how tenements in
the final construction will look (see figure 3). Yet without a written guarantee of their return to
Kathputli, many community members fear their resettlement will not be to Kathputli Colony.
V. Surveying & Eligibility

In its 2007 tender calling for architects to rehabilitate its slums, the DDA stated that, among the
responsibilities of the project, contracted firms must conduct a physical survey of the cluster
Gian P. Mathur & Associates (GPMA) claims to have undertaken a physical and socio-
economic survey in 2009.In their report, they identify 2704 dwellings and 13520 residents.
36

However, details of how GPMA conducted the survey are still hazy.
37
Regardless, in the aftermath,
2800 households was the number featured in the final report filed by GPMA.
38
Since 2009, all
official correspondence regarding this project refers to a 2009 preliminary survey of Kathputli

36
Consultants presentation to the DDA inspected in RTI Response no. No. F8(1799)12/RTI/LMIWZ/71 dated
27.1.2012.
37
Our research indicates that GPMA undertook their 2009 survey, but we have not been able to confirm this outside the
formal documentation.
38
Ibid.
10 | 23
Colony.
39
Subsequent surveys, it appears, were conducted with the intention of verifying details of
those covered by the first survey.
40

The DDAs surveys were conducted in 3 different stages. First, the DDA (LM) conducted an
onsite survey over the course of 2010.
41
The summary of the results of the survey, as per 28
November 2010, indicate that Kathputli contained 3100 identified jhuggies.
42

The second stage was that of a biometric survey, conducted by the DUSIB with personnel
provided by the DDA.
43
Since the birth of the Aadhaar project in 2009in which Unique
Identification Authority (UID) of India seeks to distribute identification cards linked to a database
of biometric datathis method of biometric surveys has come to the fore as a technique of urban
governance.
44
The DDAs own attempt to take up biometric registration arose from a policy
direction to draw from the methods of the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY).
45
The DUSIB wrote to the
DDA stating that it proposed to conduct a socio-economic survey of JJ clusters in Delhi, during
which biometric data was to be collected as well. It further stated that it would be appropriate that
one agency conduct this socio-economic survey, to avoid duplication of efforts and to promote
standardization of data.
46
The DDA in turn wrote back requesting that the DUSIB take up the
surveying of 21 clusters marked for in-situ rehabilitation projects, on a priority basis.
47

In the RAY, mapping of slums assumes a central role in the first phase. The RAY places much
stress on biometric surveying.
48
But the status of these RAY guidelines is unclear. In December
2011, representatives of the Ministry clarified that the RAY is still yet to be finalized and that pilot
projects have begun under the scheme.
49
Nonetheless, despite the ambiguity surrounding the
guidelines, the RAYs emphasis on biometric surveying has been adopted in the implementation of

39
Letter dated May 7, 2011 from Raheja Developers to the Executive Engineer, DDA WD 5, Commissioner (LM).
40
Correspondence between Executive Engineer WD 5 and Commissioner (LM) 2011/WD5/DDA/345.
41
Correspondence between the Chief Legal Advisor and Executive Engineer, Mr V.K. Saluja, letter dated 23.9.2011,
42
Summary of Survey Report of JJ Clusters in West Zone (LM), DDA, Correspondence between Asst. Dir LM (WZ)
and LM (WZ) dated 28.4.2010.
43
Though the formal documentation indicates that Kathputli has undergone a biometric survey, we have not been able
to corroborate this claim. Further research will investigate the extent to which the documented surveys have followed
through.
44
While the UID has come under fire for various reasonsincluding concerns about how inclusive the project will be
and security concerns about data protectionit is yet unclear how central to slum rehabilitation policy this element of
the surveying will become. See generally Usha Ramanathan, The Myth of the Technology Fix, http://www.india-
seminar.com/2011/617/617_usha_ramanathan.htm. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance finds the UID
project to be conceptualised with no clarity and directionless.
45
Regarding UID &Bio-Metric Survey Of JJ Clusters on DDA Land. File No.F.l0(1)2009/LMC/DDA/424.
46
Correspondence between the CEO, DUSIB and Vice-Chairman DDA, No: PS/SO/DUSIB/2010/D-313, 26
th

October 2010
47
Correspondence between the Vice-Chairman DDA and CEO, DUSIB, F 10(1) 2009/LMC/DDA/15, February
09,2011
48
Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), Guidelines for Slum Free city planning, last accessed October 2012.
http://mhupa.gov.in/w_new/RAY%20Guidelines-%20English.pdf.
49
Aruna Sundarajan, Joint Secretary at the RAY consultation on February 4th, 2012. National Consultation on JnNURM
and Rajiv Awas Yojana, Jawahar Lal Nehru National Youth Centre, New Delhi, Delhi People's Alliance.
11 | 23
several schemes in slum re-development. In August 2011, the DUSIB was midway through its
biometric surveying in Kathputli.
50

The third stage is videography and spot photo registration.
51
The DDA called for quotations
for commercial videography in March 2010.
52
One year later, in October 2011, Director (LM) was
directed to undertake the photography and videography of each jhuggi dweller along with his family
in front of his jhuggi within 30 days.
53
As of 18
th
January 2013, videography of 2300 households has
been conducted.
54

The DDA is equally vague in its account of criteria for eligibility in the program. According to
the DDA, eligibility for placement within the rehabilitation project is decided across several metrics,
the most important of which is the residency cut-off date, before which a Kathputli resident has
reasonable claim to property in the colony. Possession of documents that correspond to this date is
cruciala ration card, voters I.D., and a V.P. Singh token have each been identified as documents
required for proving residence in the colony.
55
Over the last four years, the cut-off date for initial
residence in Kathputli has been extended twice,
currently standing at 31.1.2007.
56
The reason for
the extension was that, initially, only 25% of the
total population in JJ clusters in Delhi was
eligible for redevelopment.
57
In fact, even after
pushing the cut-off date back to 2007, it has
been speculated that a mere 40% of the total
population of JJ Clusters in Delhi has become
eligible,
58
indicating that a cut-off date in
Kathputli may result in the exclusion of
considerable number of people. A response to an
RTI filed by the authors stated that the number
of beneficiaries and the final list for rehabilitation
was still under consideration. While the cutoff
date, was extended to June 2009, by way of a
cabinet decision in February 2013, there is no
clarity of whether this will act retrospectively.
(See box)

50
Correspondence with Assistant director (LM) WZ, 9.8. 2011. No. EM3(44)2001/Vol5/1425.
51
Raheja developers had also suggested the need for the use of software to facilitate this spot photo registration.
52
File No F6(31)10/LM/102/89, Circulated by Dy. Director LMC on March 17, 2010.
53
Minutes of Meeting: In-situ development at Kathputli Colony, No: EM 3 (44)12001Nol-Vlll dated October 14,
2011.
54
Summary report on In-situ rehabilitation in Clusters, filed by the Asst. Director, LM (WZ), filed on 18.1.2012
55
See generally Gautam Bhan, This is no longer the city I once knew, Evictions, the urban poor and the right to the city in
millennial Delhi, last accessed October 2012.http://eau.sagepub.com/content/21/1/127.abstract.
56
Circular No. F6 (2) CE/Nz/2598 dated 27.7.2011
57
Amarnath, CEO, at DUSIB at IIHS Inclusive Cities Conference, available at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZzN8_mSAkY.
58
Ibid.
Cut-off dates
1990: The cut-off date for rehabilitation was stated
as January 31, 1990
2000: The policy for relocation of J.J. clusters
w.e.f.01.04.2000, increased the cut off date to
31.12.1998
December, 2011 The cut-off date was extended to
31.1.2007 from 2002.
In February 2013, the GNCTD by way of cabinet
decision (No. F18(7)/UD/DUSIB/2011/Vol-I
2350) titled extended the cut-off date for relocation
to 4
th
June 2009.
12 | 23
DDA Guidelines for surveying complicates the survey story even further. Circular
F2(1)12001/LMClpt./296, issued in April 2010, requires that a notice of the surveying be displayed
in the vicinity in advance. Our research indicates that many residents were not aware of the DDA
visits to Kathputli before the actual of day of visit, denying community members another
opportunity to express their concerns to the DDA in the surveying process.
The April 2010 circular largely relies on earlier issued vide communication No. F.
2(1)2001/LMC/PI.AI8G dated 03.02.2004 for conducting the physical survey of JJ clusters. It states
that the survey team has to record all relevant information about the JJ clustersarea under
encroachment, number of jhuggies, the family details, proof of residence; nature of jhuggies and any
other information which seems relevant and meets the requirement of survey. It states further that
continuity of residence can be established by way of a ration card or metallic token (provided by the
V.P. Singh government) or voters id before 31.1.1990, after 31.1.1990 but before 31.12.1998 and
jhuggies beyond 31.12.1998. While it is clear that these dates will no longer apply, an attempt to
categorize residents on similar lines is still a possibility.
Our interviews confirmed the collection of these data by the DDA in the Kathputli settlement.
However, across the board, community members noted that they are yet to see the final results of
the survey. As one resident put it, the suspense element is unnecessary. Most residents fear, for
example, that the manner in which the DDA has marked the walls of the jhuggies is indicative of their
methods of counting. Certain upper stories, they noted, have not been counted. Even in cases
where they have been counted, theyve been looked at as parts of a unitthe ground floor
designated as 1343 while the upper storey is assigned 1343A. This has caused great alarm in
Kathputli, where a large number of the older residents built upper stories when their children got
married, thus inducing the fear that only the older generation will be included in the list of residents
eligible for rehabilitation. Without any access to the DDAs findings, Kathputli residents cannot
challenge exclusion in the project if they were to be left off of the list.
Meanwhile, the eligible residentswill move into the transit camp, located on a DDA plot in the
Ramjas Grounds of the Shadipur region.
VI. Transit Camps:

In April 2010, the DDA proposed to use Delhi Cloth Mills (DCM) Area as a transit location,
59
a
region acquired by the DDA in 2003 after an extended legal battle between the Development
Authority and the DCM.
60
It directed that the Supreme Courts permission would have to be sought
with respect to the same. However, various circumstancesmost notably, resistance from local
residentsprecluded its use. The second site that was chosen by the DDA for the transit camp was
Basai Darapur, approximately three kilometres from the current Kathputli settlement. However,
dissent from neighboring communities, who claimed that the DDA had allocated the Basai Darapur

59
Delhi Development Authority, Minutes of Meeting under the Chairmanship of VC, DDA. No.
PS/VC/DDA/2010/HOD'sMfg./L/ 5-nl dated May 5,2010.
60
DDA v. DCM Mills, 1991 SCC (3) 277
13 | 23
lot for a community centre, prevented the development of a transit camp.
61
The third site for the
transit camp was Jailorwala Bagh, located in Ashok Vihar, close to ten kilometres north of Kathputli,
where the DDA is currently planning a separate slum rehabilitation project.
62
However, these plans
did not materialise. Finally, in January 2011, the DDA indicated that while Jailorwala Bagh had been
approved as the site for the transit camp, again, due to resistance from residents and from the MLA
of the area, another spot had to be chosen. Three other sites were then identified as possible sites (i)
near Ghazipur flyover (ii) Sector 28, Rohini (iii) vacant land at Anand Parbat.
63

Finally, Anand Parbat was chosen as the spot for relocation in March 2011, around five
kilometers from the original settlement.
64


In July 2011, the Residents Welfare Association of East Patel Nagar filed a writ Petition praying
that transit homes for people who are presently residing in the slum in Kathputli colony to reside in
a transit camp on the said land on the ground that sports activities may be affected and further there
might be misuse by the people after shifting. The Delhi High Court dismissed the writ stating that
it was only a temporary measure and in the event any damage is caused to the premises, the
developers were to restore it to its original state.
65
In August 2011, the Vice-Chairman of DDA,
directed that the land marked out for the transit camp be fenced on a war footing in fifteen days.
66

The transit camp itself is situated on an empty DDA plot with a a ring of settlements around it.
Its a diverse developmental terrain; almost every category of DDA settlementauthorized colony,
unauthorized (now regularized) colony, recognized slum, and JJ clusteris represented in the area.
On the Ramjas Grounds landscape, the camp appears starkly out of place. Raheja built ivory, single-
story blocks made of gypsum boards, each room with a single fan and a single electricity outlet.
Unable to provide water and sewage to the camps, the DDA will also import a number of portable
toilets for the residents.
67

Many of the residents of Kathputli have mixed reactions to the transit housing. For some, even
the transit camp provides a marked improvement in living condition from their Kathputli
residences. Yet many others emphasise the lack of storage space (especially artisans, puppeteers and
performing artists) and sanitation facilities close to the accommodation. The pradhans sought
separate water connections and claim that conversations with the DDA and Union Ministers
indicate that they shall be provided.

61
Veronique Dupont. Access to land and housing for slum dwellers in Delhi: the impact of infrastructure projects and
real estate development, URBAN INDIA: Historical Processes and Contemporary Experience, April 2011, 21.
62
Interview with Dy. Director, LM (WZ), DDA; Jibby Kattakayam, DDA to redevelop Jailorwala Bagh slum project
itself. The Hindu, October 1, 2012 .
63
Status Note in respect of in-situ development at Kathputli Colony near Shadipur Depot, Delhi CE (NZ)/
CourtcaseKathputliColony/DDA/21, dated 20.1.2011
64
Minutes of Meeting held on 8.3.2011 in the chamber of Engineer Member DDA, in correspondence to the
Commissioner (LM).
65
Ibid
66
No. F. 7(1) 2010/ Lm?WZ/1039, Dated 4.8.2011
67
Transit camps for Kathputli Colony residents coming up at Anand Parbhat, The Hindu, February 18, 2012.
14 | 23
The arrival of Kathputli residents poses a number of interesting questions about the nature of
the interaction between the transit camp and neighbouring JJ clusters, which are left wondering
about their own developmental prospects. Interviews with Gayatri Colony residents next door to the
transit camp revealed that many were under the impression that such housing would be built for
them, as well.
68

In August 2011, police protection was sought by the DDA to prevent any resistance during
transit and to protect the transit camp from agitations by from neighbourhoods. In response, the
Additional Commissioner of police approved adequate arrangements, deployment of police force,
anti-riot police, fire tenders for the same.
69
With potential disapproval by both current residents and
that of the transit camp, the possibility of conflict is high. In our interviews, community members
remained unaware of the scheme through which they will be assigned housing. Their own
dissatisfaction, combined with the probability that the development of the new Kathputli settlement
will be delayed past its expected date, presents a problem for the DDA.


68
These findings form another area for further research. In 2011, the DDA demolished 600 jhuggis in Gayatri Colony
without providing significant notice to the community. According to theAbdul Shakeel,a member of HAQ, hundreds
were evicted, hundreds arrested, and many were severely injured in the confrontation between police and Colony
residents.Given the extreme disparity between the relationship of the DDA to Kathputli Colony and Gayatri Colony, the
borderland that will form between the transit camp and the adjacent JJ is another key area of the Kathputlis case.
69
SHO Anand Parbat to Executive Engineer WD 5.No. 791 SHO/AP dated 5.5.2011
15 | 23
VII. Environmental Clearance
As per Clause 6 of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006issued under
sub-rule (3) of Rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986projects that require
environmental clearance are divided into two categories, Category A and Category B. Category A
projects require a clearance at the level of the Central Government; Category B will require
environmental clearance from the State/Union Territorys Environment Impact Assessment
Authority (SEIAA).
70
Building and Construction projects exceeding 20,000 sq. meters and 1,50,000
sq. meters in developed area are covered under Category B.
The Kathputli Colony Project thus falls into Category B project, requiring a clearance from the
SEIAA. The SEIAA, in turn, bases its decision on the recommendations of a State or Union
territory level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) which is required to be constituted under the
notification.
71

The Kathputli project was presented before the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee
(SEAC) in June 2011. According to the minutes of that meeting, the SEAC recommended that the
information presented by the developers, the project proponent, does not meet the requirement for
Environmental Clearance.
72
At the June meeting, the committee asked for more information on the
following, among others:

(ii) Agreement on the project between DDA with M/s Raheja Developers Ltd.
(iii) Percentage land use demarcation for EWS, premium apartment, commercial block, greenery, common facility
etc. in tabular form.
(iv) Area breakup details in tabular form showing each component separately.
73


They added to the above requirements in the October meeting, requiring a Revised Water
balance Chart, a Complete Geo-technical report with soil characteristics and a Floor wise
building plans and Fire fighting/evacuation plans among others, deciding that Zero wastewater
discharge should be achieved.
74


70
Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, Ministry of Environment and Forests, S.O. 1533. Clause 4.
71
Ibid.
72
Case No. 119, Minutes of the 32nd meeting of State Level Expert Appraisal Committee, 30.06.2011.
73
Ibid.
74
Minutes from the 33
rd
SEAC meeting provide extensive details on the settlement. Total expected population will be
17715 persons (14000 persons in EWS Blocks, 690 persons in Premium Apartment and 3025 persons in Commercial
Block). Parking provision will be for 1533 ECS (573 ECS in EWS blocks, 547 ECS in commercial block and 413 ECS in
premium apartment).Total water requirement for proposed project is 2060.055 KLD, out of which the fresh water
requirement is 1347.735 KLD which will be met partly by DJB and partly from groundwater after obtaining necessary
permission. The total wastewater generation from the proposed project will be about 1854.05 KLD, which will be
treated at an on-site STP of 2225 KLD. The treated wastewater of 1668.645 KLD will be used for Flushing (712.32
KLD), Horticulture (41.44 KLD), and Cooling make-up water requirement (914.885 KLD). The total power
requirement for the project will be 8.388 MWh (4.52 MWh in EWS blocks, 1.703 MWh in Premium Apartment and
2.165 MWh in Commercial Block), which will be supplied by NDPL. DG sets proposed for power back up are 2x5000
KVA. Total solid waste generation from the proposed project will be 6231.05 Kg/day (5600 Kg/day from EWS block +
276 Kg/day from premium apartment + 355.05 Kg/day from commercial block.
16 | 23
The committee also laid down certain conditions during its June meeting that would be imposed
in the event an Environmental Clearance was granted, including:
(i) The transit camp proposed nearby project site should be demolished by the proponents after completion of
construction phase and the land should be given back to DDA.
(ii) The recurring cost of the lifts proposed in EWS towers should be borne by M/s Raheja Developers Ltd.
under CSR.
75

The SEAC did not grant environmental clearance in their subsequent meeting in October 2011.
Minutes of subsequent meetings until May 2013 do not mention the Raheja project.

VIII. Discussion

In recent years, the Delhi Government and the Delhi Development Authority have moved from
an eviction driven approach to acknowledging, at least on paper, the need to incorporate the urban
poor into their planning processes. Where the prevalent strategy in Delhi has in the past been the
removal of squatter settlements and their residents conditional relocation, the Master Plan 2021
reflects a deeper commitment to slum-dweller rights.
76
Yet this shift is just one part of a larger
policymaking movement in many parts of India. In this respect, a comparative study involving other
contemporary slum rehabilitation might be useful. For instance, all new tenders issued by the
DUSIB now require that designs for slum rehabilitation be compliant with the Rajiv Awas Yojana
(RAY)a central scheme that seeks to provide the urban poor with housing and tenure
guaranteesdespite the fact that the state of Delhi has neither formulated a Slum-Free City Plan
nor adopted legislation in pursuance of the Model Property Rights for Slum Dwellers Bill (2011),
both of which are required by the RAY scheme. In addition, running parallel to Delhis legislative
framework is the oft-quoted example of Mumbais Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). The Slum
Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) acquired the status of a planning authority by way of an amendment
to the Maharashtra Town and Country Planning Act in 1991. The motivations for these
amendments are found in the Afzulpulkar Committee Report, which stated that there was a need to
raise the standard of living of the urban poor, given that the unhygienic conditions they live in were
not a result of choice and that they had been an integral part of the cultural and commercial history
of the metropolis of Mumbai.
77


75
Case No. 119, Minutes of the 32nd meeting of State Level Expert Appraisal Committee, 30.06.2011. The second
condition is of interest in that it sees an environmental regulatory body take on social justice concerns in its decision
making processes, given that neither the DDA nor Raheja has undertaken a large scale social impact assessment.
76
Vronique Dupont, Slum Demolitions in Delhi Since the 1990s : An appraisal, Economic & Political Weekly (2008).
77
In order to formulate a comprehensive rehabilitation scheme for slums, as promised in the election manifesto, a high
powered study group under the chairmanship of ex-Chief Secretary Mr. Dinesh Afzalpurkar (IAS) was set up by the SS-
BJP Government soon after it came to power. The committee, popularly known as the Afzalpurkar Committee,
recommended the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme. The Government of Maharashtra accepted the recommendations made
by the Afzalpurkar Committee in the State Legislative Assembly and amended the Maharashtra Slum Area
(Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971. A Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) was then constituted
to put this plan into action by the Government Notification dated 16 December, 1995 to function with effect from 25
December, 1995.
17 | 23
While the RAY is largely in the initial pilot stage,
78
the SRA rehabilitation schemeswhich were
the first experiment in this mouldare no longer universally seen as an exemplary model.
79
Plagued
with corruption, vested interests and stories of lack of informed consent, the SRA is also in need of
rigorous introspection.
80
However, it remains the most prominent example of a legislative
framework for the involvement of private developers in slum redevelopment projects, and an
influential precedent for current DUSIB legislation.
The DDA and the Survey:

Surveys are central to the DDAs approach to slum rehabilitation, collecting all of the data that
will factor into the construction of new settlements. A number of contemporary urban theorists
have noted the importance of survey data as both a means of surveillance by the state and as a
powerful tool in the internal practice of democracy.
81
On the latter, Arjun Appadurai (2002) has
shown that for many slum-dwelling communities in Mumbai, surveys offer the opportunity to take
populations that are socially, legally, and spatially marginalinvisible citizens as it were, and
render them statistically visible. This method of bottom-up self-surveillance can then serve as a
bargaining chip in the slum-dwellers interactions with the state, whose claims it may counter with a
wealth of self-knowledge.
82
In Kathputli, however, surveying is a top-down discourse. Even with a
significant presence, Kathputli hasneither conducted a comprehensive self-survey nor been involved
in the drafting or execution of the DDA/Raheja surveys. As such, they have little with which to
counter the statistics produced by the DDA in its own data collection, subject to DDA survey and
eligibility guidelines that threaten to dispossess a significant portion of the colony in the
rehabilitation process. In the case of Kathputli, thenwhere we have noted discrepancies between
results of various surveys by various development actorssurvey data can serve as metrics for
dispossession.
The results of the various surveys tell us a conflicting story. The consultants project report and
GPMAs contract with the DDA identify this number as either 2754 or 2800. On completion of the
survey, a summary report noted that after the first stage, the DDA had identified 3100 jhuggies.
83

However, in subsequent summaries, the number reverted back to 2754.
84
This difference of about
350 households in the spectrum of those eligible for EWS apartments is cause for alarm.

78
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Release of First Installment of Grants-in-aid to 14 State/ UTs
Governments for Slum Free City Plan Scheme (SFCP) under Rajiv Awas Yojana during 2010-11, Last accessed
October 2012 http://mhupa.gov.in/ray/SFPS/release.html
79
Mess in the Slum Capital, The Hindu, Last accessed October 2012.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article3512523.ece.
80
Gurbir Singh and P. K. Das, Building castles in the air: housing schemes for Bombay's slum-dwellersEconomic and
Political Weekly, Vol. 30, No. 40 (Oct. 7, 1995), pp. 2477-2481.
81
Arjun Appadurai, Deep Democracy: Urban Governmentality and the Horizon of Politics, Environment and
Urbanization (2002) 13.2, 34-35.
82
Ibid.
83
Delhi Development Authority, Summary of Survey Report of JJ Clusters in West Zone (LM), Correspondence
between Asst. Dir LM (WZ) and LM (WZ) dated April 28, 2010.
84
Present Status of The JJ Cluster In-Situ Redevelopment scheme, Signed by AD (LM) WZ dated January 18 2012.
18 | 23

The difference of about 350 households in the various surveys of the DDA reflects the deeper,
methodological flaws of the DDA survey system, which does not rest on mechanically objective
or scientifically rational survey procedures.
85
A review of the DDA notes as much:

The information system in the DDA is characterised by a data
explosion at the lower levels and information starvation at the higher levels of
management. There is little consolidation or analysis being carried out at any level
of the DDA. Even senior officers receive information in the form of raw data. In
the absence of the data being processed and presented as information, officials
are unable to use it as a decision-making tool, thereby defeating the very purpose
for which the data was gathered.
86


This portrait of bureaucratic failure suggests that the Foucauldian interpretation of slum
surveysas an attempt to conduct the conduct of slum populations by developing a knowledge
apparatus (Foucault, 2007; 2001)does not provide a full account of the DDAs contemporary
approach. Ghertner does show the DDAs surveys to be a consistent governmental technology of
shaping and guiding the slum populations interests.
87
While the DDA used to conduct surveys only
in anticipation of a slum demolition or relocation, today the vast majority of slums in Delhi today
have undergone surveys, even when relocation was not imminent. The Tata review, however, shows
that the increase in slum surveys has not been accompanied by an effective reorganization to make
use of the incoming data. The state may, as Ghertner suggests, be attempting to make slums visible,
bounded, and calculable, but the failures of the DDA suggests that in the case of Kathputli, the
opacity of the DDAs survey methodology is possibly less a calculated manoeuvre as it is a failure of
communication. Given the mandates of participation in DUSIB and RAY, the DDA is faced with
the task of developing a solid infrastructure for slum surveys where the evictionary approach
allowed less methodical bookkeeping. The result, according to Ghertner, is that the DDA is
calculating without numbers, relying far more on qualitative observation than quantitative
analysis.
88

In Mumbai, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority requires that survey results be relayed to the
community in order to receive their ratification; in Kathputli, no such communication has taken
place. Currently, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board hosts a list of eligible and ineligible JJ
residents for other projects for resettlement on their website, which they hope will provide second
opportunity to those residents who were surveyed but either could not fill up their forms or who
have been declared ineligible by the eligibility determination committee, so that they might appeal

85
Ghertner, D. Asher (2010). Calculating without numbers: aesthetic governmentality in Delhis slums, EcEconomic and
Society, 39:2, 206.
86
As quoted in Ghertner (2010): Tata Consultancy Services (1986) Delhi Development Authority Organizational Review
Study, Vol. 1, Proposed Management Information System, p. 4.6.
87
Op. cit.
88
Ibid.
19 | 23
the decision of the Board.
89
The DDA, on the other hand, has been entirely opaque in relaying both
the process and results of the survey to the community.
Community Participation and Consent:
Our research indicates that the DDAs aspirational development plan has, on the ground
level, translated into a great deal of fear and confusion with respect to the possibility of permanent
eviction from a community that Kathputli residents have built over the course of the last 40 years.
Despite its attempt at community participationworded in the Master Plan 2021the DDA and
its rehabilitation processes remain opaque to both researchers and more importantly, to the subjects
of its ambitious new projects. Aside from limited interaction with a handful of representatives from
the community, Kathputli residents have been both excluded from and uninformed about the
DDAs planning process.
Nonetheless, the Master Plan 2021, the framework within which this rehabilitation project has
been initiated, states that Community Based Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations
should be closely involved in the resettlement process. DUSIB, too, envisages some level of
community involvement, requiring that stakeholder analysis be undertaken to record the concerns
of the residents.
90
Before finalizing and implementing any scheme, the Board is required to publish
the scheme in the manner prescribed by regulations and shall invite and consider objections, if any,
received from the public.
91

Meanwhile, RAY requires that the State Nodal Agency identify, mobilize and involve several
community structures like Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs), Neighbourhood Committees (NHCs),
Community Development Societies (CDS) etc. and slum-based Community Based Organisations
(CBOs), such as Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Co-
operative organizations of the residents, working in the area along with ward-level officials from the
local body.
92
As per Section 9 (3) of the Model Property Rights to Slum Dwellers Act 2011(an
important component of the RAY), the City Area Slum Redevelopment Committeerequired by
Section 7 of the Actis comprised of a range of important actors at different levels of the
government. The Bill also details its composition to include members of urban local bodies,
development authorities, State departments, central ministries, experts in urban planning and
members of community based organizations and NGOs.
93

Our research indicates a considerable deficit of community participation and NGO involvement.
Communication has been restricted to handful of actors within the community, trusted as
representatives. However, this model of trickle-down communication has not translated into high
levels of awareness in the community.

89
DUSIB, Present Policies & Strategies, last accessed October 2012. http://delhishelterboard.in/main/?page_id=128
90
RFP For Selection of Agencies For Undertaking Comprehensive Socio-economic Survey of Households in Jhuggi
Jhopdi Clusters in Delhi, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, last accessed October 2012,
http://delhishelterboard.in/main/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Socio-economic-survey-RFP-Revision-a-20-April-
12.pdf.
91
DUSIB Act, Section 22.
92
Community Participation Guidelines, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Page 12, July 2012.
93
Model Property Rights for Slum Dwellers Bill, 2011, Section 8.
20 | 23
In a number of interviews in the settlement, Kathputlis residents from a variety of different
ethnic and economic backgrounds have expressed fear about the future of the colony and their place
in it. While they welcome a move towards legitimate tenure and hygienic living conditions (promised
by the DDA and politicians associated with the area), they fear that they will not return to Kathputli
colony once displaced to the transit camps. Consequently, they seek a guarantee that they will
receive a spot at the transit camp and further, that they will be guaranteed a spot on their subsequent
relocation.
Scholarship on the urban poor in India has increasingly seen the urban as a site of heightened
inequality and differential access to rights including basic services and tenure. Arjun Appadurai
articulates that these circumstances have led to a situation which has given rise to the phenomenon
of citizens without a city.
94
Patrick Heller argues that, in the context of such inequality,
participation becomes all the more necessary as a means of deepening of democracy, as the state
works to close the gap between formal legal rights in the civil and political arena, and the actual
capability topractise those rights meaningfully.
95
Charles Tilly emphasises that the states binding
consultation with citizens is central as a marker of meaningful citizenship.
96
Overall, work on
citizenship indicates that without active consultation, southern metropolises will remain engulfed in
clientelistic politics, which will remain the mode by which the urban poor will gain access to services.
The international human rights framework with regard to the right to adequate housing
emphatically reiterates this principle. The Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development Based
Evictions and Displacement (A/HRC/4/18) emphasize that opportunities for dialogue and
consultation must be extended effectively to the full spectrum of affected persons. When India
submitted a periodic report in 2008to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on
compliance with the requirements of the ICESCR, the Committee expressed serious concerns with
respect to the Indian governments failure to protect and ensure the right to adequate housing for its
citizens. The Committee also recommended that, prior to implementing development and urban
renewal projects, sporting events and other similar activities, the State party should undertake open,
participatory and meaningful consultations with affected residents and communities.
97
General
Comment 7 on the Committee onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rightswith specific reference to
the right to adequate housingemphasizes the need for genuine consultation prior to displacement.
98

Certainly, we need to give meaning to community participation by breaking it into processes
beyond a simple consent and signature requirement. However, consent still plays a central role in
any meaningful definition of community participation. Without a consent requirement, participation
becomes merely a perfunctory exercise, or worse, subject to repeated legislative assertion that

94
Arjun Appadurai,Deep Democracy: Urban Governmentality and the Horizon of Politics, Environment and
Urbanization (2002) 13.2, 34-35.
95
Patrick Heller, Democratic Deepening in India and South Africa, Journal of Asian and African Studies, (2009) 44, 123.
96
As in Patrick Heller and Peter Evans, Taking Tilly south: durable inequalities, democratic contestation, and
citizienship in the Southern Metropolis, Springer Science+Business Media (2010).
97
United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No.4: the Right to Adequate
Housing (1991)
98
United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 7: the Right to Adequate
Housing (1997)
21 | 23
consent is unnecessary. This is the current trajectory of the DDA. The Master Plan in guideline
4.2.3.1 (viii) says that community-based organisations should be closely involved in the
rehabilitation process. However, the Kathputli project is a clear example of how under such a broad
directivecoupled with no consent requirementthe DDA has little incentive to consult the
community, reducing their involvement of residents to a bare minimum.
As we note, developers have drafted a contract that is intended to elicit some measure of
consent from the community. Slum-dwellers may, in this scheme, refuse to sign the contract, thus
signalling their discontent. Yet this protest offers little recourse for negotiating the terms of the
rehabilitation. While recognizing that Rahejas move to formalize a draft agreement with the
Kathputli residents was intended to provide some security in the upheaval of the transition, it is thus
crucial to note that the agreements authors are the developers themselves. On the one hand, we
might read Rahejas initiative to draft the agreement as a progressive step away from the forced
eviction approach to achieve some level of consent. However, the terms of the agreementalbeit in
the draft stagehave been established by the developers, without early cooperation of the state,
community, or other civil society actors. It is thus unclear how much agency Kathputli residents will
actually have when they are presented with the agreement.
Moreover, this document is not comprehensive in its scope. There are no clauses about what
would happen to the residents in case the project was abandoned after commencement, i.e. after
they had been moved from their residences. Ironically, the only mention of breach of contract is on
the part of the slum dweller: a resident can be dispossessed of the final dwelling unit in the event
that a notice issued by the DDA has not been answered or complied with within 7 days. Ultimately,
when the final arbiter for the disputes is the DDA Vice-Chairman, the protections afforded to the
displaced residents appear insubstantial, and the larger efforts to promote community participation
appear to be minimal, at best.

Conclusion
We cannot conclude from these failures, however, that the DDA and the developers operate in a
purely extractionary alliance. While Raheja Phoenix may have serious consequences for the
livelihoods of the Kathputli residents, the DDAs role in the rehabilitation project must be read
within the context of the larger political climate, in which civil society actors and local political
bodies have movedwith relative success to assert the rights of the urban poor in policies like the
DUSIB and the Right to Information. In the case of Kathputli, while the DDA has fallen short of
the goals of DUSIB and RAY, the extensive attempts made by the DDA to survey the region and
provide services to Kathputli residents in the transit camp marks a major shift away from the
evictionary approach that predominated since the DDAs inception in 1957. Scholarship on the
DDA indicates that the agency suffers from both a number of bureaucratic inefficiencies as well as a
conspicuous absence of accurate and up-to-date statistics.
99
The DDA has certainly been opaque
in this regard; they have made little attempt to shed light on these bureaucratic and data collection

99
Ghertner, D. Asher (2010). Calculating without numbers: aesthetic governmentality in Delhis slums, Economic and
Society, 39:2.
22 | 23
processes and explain their slowed progress. Yet the opacity of the DDA is, through this lens, largely
the result of intra-agency confusionproducing delays, miscommunication, or no communication
at allrather than a deliberate refusal to communicate. After all, many of the problems and setbacks
that we have identified come at the expense of the both the community and the DDA itself.
The major problem from the policy perspective is thus the disconnect between intention and
implementation. Much of this resides in the DDA itself, and Ghertner (2010) provides a detailed
account of how the various branches of the agency intersect or fail to connect. Yet the Kathputli
case study also helps us to understand the consequences of the public-private partnerships on the
rehabilitation process. The DDAs current in-house rehabilitation project in Jailorwala Bagh in
North-West Delhi, then, will provide an important comparative case study for parsing out the
implementation problem.
100

The Kathputli story also sheds light on how the urban poor in Delhi are making use of the larger
political climate and the tools it has attempted to provide for their assertion of rights. In this
context, it is critical to examine the tools at the disposal of the Kathputli residents themselves, for
whom self-representation may be the most effective avenue for promoting their interests. Nikolas
Rose (1999) has referred to this process as self-responsibilization, in which the process of
liberalization has made the responsibility of ensuring housing and access to servicesnot the
responsibility of the state or the elite but of the poor themselves, as Bhan (2009) defines it.
101
In
order to do so, the poor are required to use their tools to amplify their voice and prod the state into
action. Of these, the Right to Information Act (RTI) of 2005 has made it easy for slum-dwellers the
opportunity to pursue information proactively and check the validity of the DDAs statistics. One
Pradhan did file one such RTI an application under the Right to Information Act 2005(RTI), but the
response revealed little.
102
Yet our conversations with members of the community indicates that such
awareness has not trickled down into the general community, and remains restricted largely to those
actors who have extensive contact with civil society actors with whom they can collaborate on such
petitions.
Those civil society actors have thus offered much beyond collecting funds for construction of
facilities in the settlement. Yet our research shows a distinct bias of the NGOs in the colony toward
the Kathputli community, whose artistry has attracted a great deal of attention worldwide, leaving
underrepresented many of the other communities in the region. According to Jha et al.s (2007)
statistics on Delhi slums, only around 8% of slum communities knows and interacts with NGO
staff.
103
Yet even in Kathputli, where the high concentration of NGOs implies a higher percentage,
civil society has had a limited role in the rehabilitation process. The responsibility for this
shortcoming lies with both actors: the DDA has failed to follow through with the policy mandates
outlined in the Master Plan to involve civil society actors in the rehabilitation process; yet the NGOs

100
Jiby Kattakayam, DDA to redevelop Jailorwala Bagh slum project itself, The Hindu October 1, 2012.
101
Nikolas Rose, Powers of Freedom: Reframing Political Thought, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999); Gautam
Bhan, This is no longer the city I once knew, Evictions, the urban poor and the right to the city in millennial Delhi
Environment and Urbanization 21:127, 2009.
102
Response no. No. 48/DLM (HQ) AA/ RTI/2012 in Response to RTI appeal filed by Dalip Bhatt.
103
Saumitra Jha, Vijayendra Rao and Michael Woolcock. Governance in the Gullies: Democratic Responsiveness and
Leadership in Delhis Slums, World Development Vol. 35:2, 2007.
23 | 23
have not attempted a comprehensive self-survey in the region, which would providean effective
medium through which to counter or verify the DDAs statistics, criteria for which have not been
clearly defined.
For all of the various aspects of this case study, Kathputli Colony is a space to watch. By tracing
the redevelopment process from its inception, the Kathputli case study will serve as a base for
further research on those various aspects of the project. For now, the project remains in its first
stage, and Kathputli residents still occupy the original Shadipur settlement. As Raheja finishes its
work in Anand Parbhat, the Kathputli community awaits the imminent relocation to the transit
camp, with many questions unanswered.











Subhadra Banda is a Research Associate at the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi;
Yashas Vaidya is a Ph.D. candidate in the Sociology Department of Brown University; and
David Adler is a Development Studies major at Brown University.

We would like to thank Charu Sharma, Mr. Zargham from ISERDD, and Mr.
Bhagwati from AHF for their insight into the Kathputli story; Michael Walton, Partha
Mukhopadhyay, Arkaja Singh, Patrick Heller, Jawahar Raja, and especially Veronique
Dupont for invaluable support and guidance. The information collected for this report dates
back to December, 2012.

The Urban program at CPR is a research platform exploring Indias urbanization
challenge. It aims to initiate and influence policy debates on governance, economics, social
inclusion and ecology of the Indian city. The program is funded from CPR's resources and
generous research grants from Google.org, French National Research Agency, UKAid
(DFID), Ministry of Urban Development, Govt. of India. and the Ford Foundation

Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is an independent think tank established in 1973.The
Centre conceives its larger role as one of stimulating advanced thinking on major policy
issues and suggesting alternative policy options. To learn more about the CPR and its
activities, please access the Centre's website at www.cprindia.org

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